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| Lobby where the residents hang out |
Since my partner, Cristel, couldn't make it this Saturday because she had NCS for track (which she did amazing in!) I went to volunteer by myself for the first time.I wasn't really nervous because like I said earlier everyone there is so nice and they make you feel welcome. Since I already had experience with leading the residents in their morning exercise, the activity director sent me to another building which they called "Neighborhood 2" where I led the exercise with another volunteer. It was really fun because I got to interact with new residents because it was a different building. These residents were suffering from harsher dementia then "Neighborhood 1" residents so they were not as cooperative but they still sat in the exercise circle and watched us to the exercises. After that, we did a little sing-a-long with the same residents, and did some puzzles and bingo.
Volunteering here has really helped me with getting out of my old routine of doing nothing on Saturdays. I get up and volunteer and start my day bright and early. Interacting with the residents is something that I enjoy most about this experience. The stories that they have to tell are amazing and they really take you back in time and it is so interesting for me to know about what they went through when they were my age! I really enjoy this place and look forward to going again and having new memories made. One thing that is a downfall in this volunteering experience is just that fact that none of the residents remember us by the time we go back to volunteer. Their short term memory does not get encoded into their brain to be stored as long term memory so they probably wouldn't remember us if we went back an hour later. This is something that is sad about this experience because while I am there for the 3 hours I get to interact and share stories with the residents, but I go back and they share the same stories again. It is still a wonderful experience and I am really glad I did it! :)
And I forgot to bring my camera with me when they took me to the other building so I couldn't get any pictures with the new residents, so that's why I only have one of the front lobby!
3 comments:
After reading about your volunteer experiences it's really great to see how involved you are in the volunteering process. You spend 3 hours in the morning to go help volunteer which really shows your dedication because I know not many other students would take away that much time from their weekends. It's also cool to see that even though it was a long process to get into volunteering here you and Cristel did it anyways.
The fact that you spent your Saturday morning volunteering showed a lot of dedication to your commitment. It's important to commit to your duties once you've made a promise, which you did, and the fact that Cristel was not able to go it was really nice that you still went regardless to help out! I think it's so cute that you did sing a longs, played bingo, did puzzles, and even exercised! On top of all that, you spent 3 hours there which was more than required so good job :)
This is great that you thought it was worth to volunteer although it was your relax day...Many kids do not "waste" that time to do something good like what you are doing. This is something really sweet and I'm glad that it seems like they enjoyed it. Seniors can be so sweet, in my opinion, and according to what you described them as. It is awesome that you liked the experience that you had with them!
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